Lack of exposure.
"I know a lot of coaches travel to see their prospects," said Culotta, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds. "I don't think anyone [will] make the flight to Brussels."
That, even though his mom, Dona, is offering the family's guest room to any coach who will make the trip.
Several college coaches, including James Madison defensive coordinator Kyle Gillenwater, who talked to Culotta or saw him work out this summer, declined to speak specifically about him, citing potential NCAA recruiting violations. Gillenwater, however, talked in general terms about athletes in Culotta's situation.
"I've been coaching 11 years, and this is the first time a situation like this has come up," Gillenwater said. "That tells you how rare it is. We have other sports here, like soccer, where the competition in foreign countries is known to be of the highest caliber. But football is an American game.
"If you send me a tape of Poly vs. Franklin, I'm going to know what I'm looking at. But even if I get a game tape from overseas, I have no idea what they're playing with or against. It makes the evaluation difficult.
"It's a challenge," Gillenwater added. "I'd think most in that situation would have to walk on as freshmen and hope to earn" a scholarship.
Football in Brussels certainly isn't what Gillenwater is used to seeing.
When the Raiders go on a road trip, it isn't to a nearby county, it's to a foreign country - usually Germany, Italy or one of the nations of Great Britain - "and when we go, the school makes sure we tour all the important sights," Culotta said.
His school has 70 nationalities in its classrooms, but its football team is one of the smallest in the DoDDS league in both numbers and size.
Last season, Culotta was one of just five players from the United States on his team - and two of the others were his brothers.
But Offense-Defense Elite Camp coach and director of football operations Artie Gigantino, a former major college and NFL coach and network NFL broadcaster, said he is impressed Culotta took the initiative to spend this summer in football camps to show off his talent and learn what he has to do to get noticed.
"He's a prototype outside linebacker," Gigantino said. "Big, strong, with long arms and he runs fast. If I was still the defensive coordinator at USC, I'd consider him."
